Kanyáhte’ ká’nowa’ (Snapping turtle rattle) or Kastáwēˀshæˀ (Ga-Nó-Wa Gustáh)
Small turtle shell rattles are frequently used by Native Americans. However, the shells of large snapping turtles were originally used by Seneca and Iroquois singers during the Great Feather Dance and in healing rituals of the False Face Company. Iroquois mythology maintains that the earth rests on the back of a turtle.
Artwork Details
- Title: Kanyáhte’ ká’nowa’ (Snapping turtle rattle) or Kastáwēˀshæˀ (Ga-Nó-Wa Gustáh)
- Period: Native American
- Date: 19th century
- Geography: Tonowanda, New York, United States
- Culture: Native American (Iroquois)
- Medium: Shell, wood, cherry pits?, leather
- Dimensions: 18 1/4 × 8 1/2 × 3 1/4 in. (46.4 × 21.6 × 8.3 cm)
- Classification: Idiophone-Shaken-rattle
- Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
- Object Number: 06.1258
- Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments
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Native American (Iroquois)
19th century
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ca. 1900
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John Clark
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